1 Sepr., 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 299 
form—that is, dissolved in water. Its property of destroying the spores of 
fungi was discovered by the German scientist Loew, in 1888. It is not 
poisonous in moderate amounts, even when taken internally. In 1895 
Professor H. L. Bolley, then of Indiana, but now of the North Dakota 
Experiment Station, began making experiments with a solution of formaldehyd 
for the prevention of grain smuts and potato scab. His results were so satis- 
factory that the formaldehyd treatment has come to be regarded as the standard 
preventive for these diseases. 
Does it Pay to Treat Grain to Prevent Smut ?—Suppose a farmer raises 
25 acres of oats, and receives a yield, without treating the seed, of 40 bushels 
per acre. His crop would be 1,000 bushels. Suppose 5 per cent. of the heads 
im this crop were destroyed by smut. His crop would have been a fraction 
over 1,052 bushels had he prevented the smut. In other words, he would 
have received 52 bushels of oats for treating the seed. If oats are worth 25 
cents (1s. 03d.) per bushel, the gain would have been 13 dollars (£2 14s. 2d.). 
How much would it have cost to treat the seed? The account would stand. 
about as follows :— 
Dr. Cr. 
Tollb. formaldehyd ... ... $:60 (2s. 6d.) By 52 bushels of oats at $13°00 (£214 2) 
25 cents 
To 4 hours work at ‘15 ... -.. 60 (2s. 6d.\ Less cost of treating 1°20 (5 0) 
Total ... or: n. 91°20 (53) Net profit ... $11°80 (£2 9 4) 
How to Treat the Seed.—Buy, at a drug store, 1 lb. of 40 per cent. 
formaldehyd for every 50 bushels of grain it is desired to treat. Ascertain at 
once if your druggist has it. to give him time to procure it if he has not. 
Pour 1 1b. of the formaldehyd solution into a barrel containing 45 gallons of 
clean water. ‘Then place a layer of grain 3 or 4: inches thick on the barn floor, 
and sprinkle this with the solution until all the grains are entirely wet. A 
garden sprinkler is good for this work. Then place another layer of grain on 
the first layer and sprinkle as before, repeating the process until all the seed. 
has been sprinkled. Leave the grain in the pile two hours, then spread out 
thinly to dry. It should be shovelled over once or twice a day until dry. If it 
is to be sown. broadcast, it is not necessary to dry it. 
Corn (mealies) smut cannot be prevented by treating the seed corn, as the 
disease is of a different nature from the other grain smuts. 
Jn case more grain is treated with the formaldehyd solution than is needed 
for sowing, the excess may be safely used for feeding by mixing it with ten 
times its bulk of untreated grain. 
Formaldehyd for Potato Scab.—Formaldehyd may also be used to lessen 
damage from potato scab. Immerse the unsprouted and uncut seed potatoes for 
two hours in a solution made by adding 4-lb. of 40 per cent. formaldehyd to 15 
gallons of water. If the tubers are deeply scabbed, extend the time to three or 
four hours. After treatment, cut the tubers in the usual manner. They may 
be handled freely without danger. The same solution may be used five or six 
times in succession. if the treatment is continued a little longer each time. 
RECENTLY PATENTED AMERICAN INVENTIONS, 
Amongst the latest agricultural implements patented in the United States 
is what is called ‘a replanter attachment for cultivators.” By means of this 
simple replanting attachment, which can be readily applied to any cultivator, 
and operated from the handle, a “set” of corn can be instantly and accurately 
dropped in a lost hill and added to one thinly planted during the cultivation of 
the field. At one movement of the operator’s hand, a few seeds or grains are 
dropped on the ground, the furrow having been previously opened for the seed. 
The dropped seed is covered and rolled. Another invention provides a plough 
